The Fi.ELD Graduation 2017

10 January 2018

On November 30, 11 young creatives graduated from The 2017 Fi.ELD programme on a memorable night of reflections and celebration including inspiring words from special guest speaker Caleb Femi, Young People’s Laureate for London.

Hosted by Fi.ELD facilitators Kirsty Trujillo and Vicki Igbokwe the evening looked back on a busy year including a residential weekend with DanceXchange in Birmingham; learning from top arts industry professionals through a series of ‘Know-How’ sessions; and programming and delivered a cross-disciplinary workshop and showcase of dance, visual art, photography and film. Their final project saw them pitch their creative ideas for The Fi.ELD Festival, which they subsequently curated, produced and delivered at the end of October.

Following the premiere of the below video by Alice Underwood Films, a performance from graduate Matthew Harding’s dance company and motivating words from East London Dance Chair Moira Sinclair, Caleb Femi captivated the audience with a brand new poem written especially for the event, before leaving the recent graduates with some important advice:

“If there’s one thing I can say though, especially to those who are graduating and those who are going to graduate. For me I always find it important to network sideways, rather than up. In the sense that, in networking people often want to speak to those higher up, which is good, it’s important… but it’s also just as important to try to network with the people besides you, because you can ascend together and on your terms more than anything else.” Caleb Femi

To complete the evening each graduate gave a short presentation reflecting on their year on the programme, extracts of which you can see in the below images. It was inspiring to hear the impact the programme has had on them and how excited they are to apply the knowledge to their future careers.

Does this annual opportunity look like something for you? Find out more here, join our mailing list at the very bottom left of this page and look out for how to apply every autumn until 2021.

We are also expanding the Fi.ELD programme nationally to develop a network of young leaders across the country. If you would like to support young producers in your area please contact Pauline Etim-Ubah, Partnerships and Development Manager.

The Fi.ELD is supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Sadler’s Wells